I never see any discussion of wet sanding, or effective polishing, of factory clear coated aluminum wheels. Those 50/50 before and after shots of wheel scratches removed, just like you guys show when you do paint corrections. I realize the clear coat on factory wheels is to be treated just like the paint, but it just doesn't seem to polish out or correct as well as paint. Can any experts chime in here with some helpful techniques?
Clear coat wheel scratches
- Thread starter ollever
- Start date
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Wheels are harder to work on just because of their shape and design.
The big picture is the car, before ever trying to fix a clear coated wheel I would want to see what the finish on the car looks like?
If someone asked me to sand and buff their wheels... I would humble myself and allow the next guy to enjoy the blessing...
The big picture is the car, before ever trying to fix a clear coated wheel I would want to see what the finish on the car looks like?
If someone asked me to sand and buff their wheels... I would humble myself and allow the next guy to enjoy the blessing...
rohnramirez
New member
- Feb 18, 2010
- 827
- 0
Hello guys. Wheels are forged and painted differently than the body panels. The main reason why they are harder to work with is because of the manner they were painted; they are actually powder-coated through an electrostatic process rather than plainly spraying the paint onto the surface. Powder-coated finishes are by far the strongest and most durable finish for wheels due to its high resistance to the elements and to scratches. Just sharing.
Rsurfer
Well-known member
- Jan 26, 2007
- 14,161
- 26
So, is the powercoated wheels clear coated?
rohnramirez
New member
- Feb 18, 2010
- 827
- 0
The main purpose of clear coats are for gloss and it serves as a barrier to protect the base color. So yes, it goes through the same process...and they are extremely hard.
Just to clear things out, not ALL wheels are clear-coated, but MOST OEM are. It depends on the finish they're after - could be gloss,semi-gloss, or flat/matte. Even the chrome wheels that are coming out on the new models are not actually chrome; they are only chrome-like, they're only painted silver through a vacuum process that comes out looking like chrome.
Just to clear things out, not ALL wheels are clear-coated, but MOST OEM are. It depends on the finish they're after - could be gloss,semi-gloss, or flat/matte. Even the chrome wheels that are coming out on the new models are not actually chrome; they are only chrome-like, they're only painted silver through a vacuum process that comes out looking like chrome.
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